Local Number Portability (LNP) today, provides a network solution which enables subscribers or end users in a predetermined geographical area, (City, Metro Area, LATA, STATE) to retain their telephone number even though they may have physically moved within that geographical area and/or wish to change from one service provider to another. Location LNP thus enables a subscriber to move from one permanent physical location to another within the geographical area. Location LNP for example enables a subscriber or end user to move from a downtown region to the suburbs without changing their telephone number. Service Provider LNP on the other hand, enables subscribers or end users within the geographical area to determine which service provider provides them with dial tone and to change their service provider at any time without being required to give up their current telephone number. Other forms of LNP such as Service LNP would allow an end user to keep their same telephone number while changing their service from one type to another, from for example plain old telephone service (POTS) to Integrated Switched Digital Network (ISDN).
It is estimated that as LNP becomes available to customers in a large metropolitan areas for example (2,000,000 telephone access lines) that 20% or 400,000 access lines may wish to port (change) their Service Provider in a 24 month period. This would equate to 16,666 Service Provider ports per month or 750 per business day. These numbers are expected to double if an additional 20% of the subscribers in the same 24 month period wish to also take advantage of Location LNP; a reasonable prediction.
As was seen in the long distance market when it became de-regulated there were many instances of unauthorized transfers of a customer from one long distance provider to another. Customers having not requested a transfer would not be made aware of the completed transfer until at the earliest the first billing received from the new long distance provider.
Once LNP network solutions are implemented and the various service providers can provide their customers with the various types of LNP, service providers will desire methods of porting which are efficient and substantially automated as well as methods which reduce the number of unauthorized transfers of subscribers from one service provider to another or other unauthorized porting requests.